Boating Knowledge Base
Have a sailing question? Access NauticEd’s sailing and boating knowledge base, and gain in-depth answers to your sailing questions. If you’re interested in powerboating, visit our new powerboating blog.
Crossing Situations Nav Rules
The Rule 15 (a) when two power-driven vessels are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the vessel...
Key Sailboat Instruments
Sailboat Instrumentation can be very sophisticated and intelligent. Most electronic displays provide a wide range of menus of useful information...
Action by a Give-Way Vessel
The Nav Rule Every vessel which is directed to keep out of the way of another vessel shall...
The Deck – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Gaining knowledge about the boat, its systems, and its equipment is a great starting point for any sailing adventure.
Sailing Safety Introduction
Emergencies at sea extend from simple and almost funny episodes to major challenges that are extremely serious.
Sailboat Fire Extinguishers and Requirements
Fire Extinguishers Fire Extinguishers are given a letter rating that matches the type of fire they will be battling.
Momentum on a Sailboat
While sailboats are primarily powered by wind, the use of an engine (technically your sailboat engine is “auxiliary power”) is crucial for certain maneuvers and situations. All of this begins with understanding the momentum of a sailboat!
Basic Telltale Control continued
Controlling the telltales by making course adjustments - when making the woolies fly by making course adjustments the rule is...
Sailboat Battery Charging
Like a water bucket, batteries have a specific storage capacity and must be refilled/recharged when their contents of energy are depleted.
Motor Sailing
If the wind is light and your time is short you might want to consider motor-sailing—using your auxiliary engine...
Anchoring
Anchoring is not simply throwing a “hook” and letting out a line. However, after watching some sailors, this seems to be their theory. Successful anchoring requires a plan considering all the factors.
Seamanship Nav Rules
Navigation rules refer many times to good seamanship, The best advice we can give here around seamanship is to get experience...
Docking onto End Ties
Wind blowing you off the dock end ties, plan a fairly steep approach so that you are facing more into the wind.
Anchoring with Propwalk on a Sailboat
Without proper knowledge of how the boat reacts to the wind and propwalk, anchoring can be a real challenge.
Winged Sail Vector Diagrams
Sail and Winged Sail Wind Force Vector Diagrams. And it's highly relevant right now because of the America's Cup AC45 catamarans using winged sails.
Helpful Hints about Wind
Since the existence of wind is the primary reason we can sail, it is prudent to know all we can about it.
Sailing and Wind Forces
A sailboat moves in upwind and downwind directions. Downwind is intuitive; it just gets blown downwind. But just how does a sailboat move into the wind?
Reefing the Sails
Before heading out, check forecasted wind conditions to see if you might need to reef at some point during the day. If so, make appropriate reefing preparations in the calm marina and ensure your crew knows the procedure.
Propwalk factors – The p factor
There are two combined reasons that work in unison to create propwalk.
Operating the Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Many modern sailboats are equipped with integrated engine throttle and transmission shift systems; called the push-pull cabling system.
Unfurling or Raising the Sails
You have motored your vessel from the slip into open water and are now ready to either unfurl or raise the sails, depending on your setup.
Chart Symbols
Studying a harbor layout does very little good without understanding the symbols and what they signify. It pays to
Dock Line Release
Have a dock line untying plan based on the wind and the current direction and then communicate this to the crew. Depending on which is stronger...
Dinghy on a Bareboat Charter
Several things to note about the dinghy on a Bareboat Charter.
